Letters to Squire Pedant, in the East, by Lorenzo Altisonant, an emigrant to the West. For the benefit of the inquisitive young. By a lover of the studious. Fourth edition enlarged and improved
Indianapolis: Printing and Publishing House, 1870. 8vo, pp. xiv, 15-163; original brown cloth; gilt lettering on upper cover; a newspaper clipping written by the author tipped onto front pastedown; pencil ownership inscription on front free endpaper; covers faded; spine extremities cracked; otherwise very good. A series of fictitious letters, ostensibly pertaining to local events, written in impossibly difficult English and intended as a study tool for expanding one's vocabulary. The work was popular enough to go through several reprintings. At the time of this book's publication the author, Samuel K. Hoshour (1803-1883), was the State Superintendent of Education for Indiana and an active preacher. Pages 77 to the end contain a "vocab of the unusual words contained in the Altisonant letters." Item #56101
Price: $85.00
